Rudi Silva

This is a list of how to generally see most pieces of writing work through the lens in which it was created. Why is this list necessary? Well for starters, nuisance is everything. The quicker one can spot nuisance, the faster you can break it all down into components and see a closer interpretation of the will of the author. As you read on, think about what connotations are implied in a piece you enjoy. Think of what word choices are being used and where it leads you to feel. This is not a list delving deep into the craft or style of a specific piece, but rather a list that provides perspective to the skeptical eye. Subtext and nuisance. Master these and you are well on your way to understanding far more than you realize when you analyze a piece.

When was it created?

This is a great thing to do when looking at any piece, from a work of literature to a sculpting in a museum. It is always good to know the time period it was made, and how old it is. This gives you a sense of the culture of the time, which is number 3. What this also does, is immediately open up further questions for interpretation. Though this is tempting I urge you to do a few more things before solidly locking your answers.

Who was the creator?

This really should be the first step, there is a very fine line between art and artist. A true skeptic will be able to read the artist through their work in time,be able to see the nuisance, just like a good artist will know how to express themselves through their medium in time, it is all just practice. It is also good to know the creator because one can decipher the immediate intentions of the piece once they realize what the artist is going for or wants to reflect.

What was the culture like at the time?

Cultures go through shifts and transform depending on the state of the inhabitants within that culture. As the current culture shifts and ebbs, the people change as well, and vice versa. If people in a society grow up in a specific way, the art will eventually reflect it, when the art reflects it, it seeps back into our culture as the new normal. This process happens whether or not one is in agreement or disagreement on how it came to be.

An example of this is Postmodernism. Look at how America was only 50 years ago and look at the nation now. In the arts, postmodernism is now a legitimate genre, for bad or for worse. It was created from a general distrust of modernism and traditional theories and ideologies, this matches perfectly with American society’s skepticisms and abilities to both think constantly about nothing and overthink about everything. How is that possible? No clue, but postmodernism is the sad result. This is why looking at culture in the past and comparing it to the present is vitally important in the arts.

Who is the audience?

Just as you can understand a piece by understanding the artist, you can also figure out a lot by whose eyes were meant to see it. Is it a painting by Michelangelo for the eyes who enter the Sistine Chapel? Perhaps it is a short book meant for those who are grieving, like CS Lewis’ A Grief Observed? It could even be a letter to a loved on but whatever it may be, knowing who it is addressed for opens up a world of interpretive tools as to what the meaning as a whole is.

What IS the piece?

This is probably the easiest thing to decipher… Unless it is a postmodern piece of art. Even still, is it a piece of literature? A letter? Screenplay? This can also be applied to physical pieces of art, sculptors, paintings. This can be followed up with — Why does the artist like this specific medium? What does he/she express through this medium that they cannot any other? Yes we have a lot of questions we need to ask ourselves but if you want to become a great storyteller; NUISANCE IS EVERYTHING.

What is the message of this piece?

Ah, finally we have arrived. After researching all the above and understanding the context in which a piece was made, we can deduce the cultural meaning we as a people can take away from it, the meat. Here is the tricky part— we can not be selfish here. Keep in mind everyone can have their own interpretation. However I invite you a little further to find a deeper sort of meaning. There is only one meaning in every piece that gets distorted as it makes copies in everyone’s imagination. The sentence, “That dog ate my sandwich!” It has only one meaning, though others may think differently. Take the word, “dog” for example. Naturally you will be thinking of an animal. I would like to pleasantly surprise you by actually speaking of a nasty person. “That dog ate my sandwich! Rick’s always eating everyone’s lunch like a dog waiting for scraps.” You see? It’s a simple example except the sentence itself has multiple meanings. By putting everything in its context, it helps us take that extra step for more nuisance to flow revealing even more subtext to be properly understood.

I urge you, storytellers, to practice this daily whenever you read and study a piece of culture or art. Everything in its context helps us as culture shapers understand the world around us. It helps us search for a deeper magic if that work is appropriate here. As CS Lewis wrote through the voice of Aslan in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe … “though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation.”

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Recently on social media, I saw this screenwriters roundtable where one of the guests claimed that screenwriting is a “bastardized” form of writing. In context, I believe he meant that storytelling in that form on paper is useless in the end because films were not meant to be read. After all, we don’t see people going to the theater to read scripts, do we? I will attempt to expand on this idea with my own thoughts.

The oral tradition of myth-telling was past on from generation to generation before anything was ever written down thousands of years ago. As we look at scripts and stories, we see a very similar theme. They highlight the biggest most dramatic moments of the character(s) that push them to their limits and changes them, for good or worse. Whether this was because it was easier to remember these moments or those were and are what our souls crave, doesn’t really matter here. What does matter is that those are the key elements of stories we use today.

The archetypes and plots we relate to the most are spun together in a creation of sorts when we make a screenplay. How does this relate at all to the claim screenwriting is a bastard though? Well, we see films and we imagine scripts. The script is a blueprint for that imagery but it does not provide the necessary details needed as some books do for books have the luxury to explain away everything, generally speaking. In a film’s case, imagination is left to the director and creative heads. Let me explain further, a script is a tool in the craft of filmmaking, it is not the final product. Therefore, when we write screenplays, we are writing down what will eventually manifest in real life — in the actors, the camera, the lighting, etc. In that manifestation, the script loses its enchantment. The story is transferred then back to the oral tradition through the people making the film. The script was only a kicking off point that has now been subject to change and manipulation as the imagination of others take charge. That is very different from a novel. A novel is a guide through a created world, a screenplay is a template to one.

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Some of you may remember from my last post, writing is the most important thing to be doing if you consider yourself a writer. As easy as it sounds, it’s always harder in practice! This is number one, two and three until you master it! Set small goals for yourself. Grow them over time and eventually old goals become habit. Figure out what helps you write and just go ham. Don’t worry about structure, grammar or the future. If you have writer’s block, write a journal entry of your life or even a poem. This is the part where you can try out different styles and mediums to expand your knowledge over time. Just write.

Read. Watch. Feel.

Read and watch stories! This seems like traditional advice, “reading more will help you improve your stories,” well duh! What I am saying is, read and watch what you love. What does your heart draw you toward? Why is that so? Figure out why you are drawn to it so much and how it resonates with you personally. Which characters stand out to you and what part of their story do you relate to or like the most. Why? Remember, quality is better than quantity. Doing this will help grow your storytelling ability more than reading 5 books in one week would. People forget most of what they read within just a few days. Always be sensitive to what moves you inside the context of a story and ask why. This step should consist of a lot of questions that you ask yourself to figure out the types of story that lure you. Personally, mythology is the best thing to study when starting out. Myths are the very foundation of storytelling that pulls on the heartstrings of the masses for a reason. Oral traditions was the lifeblood of old civilizations.

Study People.

This step I am most grateful to have understood through film directing. It is different from text based storytelling because it involves paying close attention to the nuances of the human existence and translating it to screen. A moving painting, if you will. What will they do next physically in lieu of their character development? How do we get characters to make these explosive choices and also isolate them in their darkest nightmares or vice versa? We study how we as humans act and think. Once we start to get the smallest fractioned grasp on the complexity of the human mind, we can then manipulate elements in our story through our characters’ choices, perspective, and flaws to get desired results. Study the people around you, your family, your friends. How do they react to things? How did they grow up? Get to know them and build a genuine bond. What makes them tick? Expanding your circles and paying attention to those close to you will of help elevate your storytelling to new levels.

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Before I begin, I would like to state that this will not be a piece about how to improve your writing craft. That is for the future. This is simply about the act of writing. The act of putting your pen to paper or as most people today, fingers to keyboard or phone. Not much information will be “new” but it will be relevant and dare I say, a useful reminder.
During my last year of school, Shannon Flynn, a producer/writer mainly known for her work with Disney, gave a lecture on the industry. She presented an idea I would never forget—in any creative field, 80% of the people that begin the craft will fail, or even worse, quit.
How could this possibly be true?
The answer lies in any liberal arts class. Some would say that you are looking at a room full of future filmmakers, cultural icons, and artists; others say you won’t remember who any of them are in thirty years time. I know this first hand because I’ve seen it with a majority of my peers. In only a few years, they’ve given up.
Where to Start – Consistency
This brings to question, why? Well, would someone who claims to be truly dedicated to their craft spend so much time letting life, whatever that is, get in the way? No, they integrate their passions into their life because they couldn’t be satisfied otherwise.
Consistently writing thoughts and stories to tangible form is a great feat. Many people seem to think they are cut out for it, as with most arts, only to find out they were misled later on. If you believe you are called to write, test yourself daily. If you are a writer or claim to be, then we should be writing daily, no excuses. As manageable as that sounds, most young ”writers” fail. Let’s make sure we don’t fall into this trap.
Writing daily has its own secret benefits. By stimulating your brain and constantly being found in the work, the work improves on its own. Shocking, right? Well, not really, psychologists like Robert B. Cialdini called this the Rule of Consistency. Cialdini and his team found that the more you do something, the less thought it takes to do and the more the skill grows. In other words, it becomes easier! This is a fact of life for anything really. What a sweet reward for all the hard work you put in. Even if it is just 100 words, the act of writing itself is the best way to improve your writing.
When you make your work a habit, you automatically begin building a foundation of professionalism in the craft. Professionalism is a friend to consistency. An artist’s job is to do, not talk about doing. This is what separates the amateurs and pros. This may be a no-brainer, however, when we put the 80% into context, being professional is really difficult for some people. This is a magical trait that can be found in very few writers (and workers), look for it and hold on tight.
Writer’s block
“But I have writer’s block,” some may say. “I don’t know what to write,” is a constant one I hear. It doesn’t necessarily matter. If you are a writer then you can begin by simply writing your own life down. Perhaps tell a short story with a beginning, middle and end, not worrying about how bad it is or how long, just write. Write down your opinions on a matter and why you think that way. Consider the flowers outside and write down what they make you think about.
Creating projects for yourself will give you inspiration for the bigger projects to come and help fight writer’s block. Be found in your work so you are ready when opportunities arise. Again, you may already have heard this, I’m not claiming to know it all because I fail at writing on a daily basis also. I would just like to encourage my fellow writers, however, to put your pens where your mouth is and challenge yourself to write at the very least, 100 words a day. Challenge yourself to something you haven’t done that brings your thoughts into words and your art. I invite you to learn with me on this weekly journey as I write about writing, storytelling, and literature. Hopefully teaching a few things along the way.

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Formerly HeadlinesTonight.com, MultiMediaMouth.com was created in 2009 by Chris Nelson. In 2016, Chris Nelson sold MultiMediaMouth.com to Ruben Jay. We now cover entertainment from all angles. Make sure to follow us for all forms of amazing content.